Body Found In Area Woods; Family Suspects Foul Play

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A body has been found in a wooded area north of Roland, Okla., but there has been no determination whether it is the body of a person who recently went missing in the area, Sequoyah County Sheriff Ron Lockhart said Monday (Sept. 2).

The Sheriff’s Department has been looking for 32-year-old Michael Joe Giles, who was last seen Aug. 24 walking into a wooded area after leaving a party north of Roland, according to the department’s Facebook page.

Although Lockhart said he cannot confirm the body is Giles’, the family said they found his body this morning.

“He was my best friend and I loved him,” said the man’s mother, Marilyn Giles. “I don’t know who would have done something like this to him.”

“He was a good guy. I mean, he would help anybody out that needed it,” said Lorie Giles, the man’s aunt. “His sister found him and his body was decomposed. She barely recognized him.”

Giles’ sister said it’s out of the ordinary for her brother to wander off, and she suspects foul play in his death. The sheriff said he could not yet say whether authorities suspect foul play.

“I miss him, and I know that somebody did this to him. He wouldn’t have strayed away from his family,” Marilyn Giles said. “He was always around his family. He would not go two or three days without talking to one of us.”

Lockhart said the body was sent to the Medical Examiner’s office in Tulsa. His department is waiting for autopsy results to identify the victim.

“I don’t know why would anybody do anything to anybody like that but I know there’s foul play I know there is,” said cousin Justin Lechner.

The Giles family said he had six children, and it will be hard for them no longer having their father around.

“He loved his family, he was a family kind of person he loved everybody,” said Marilyn Giles.

Giles’ family is asking anyone with information to come forward. The family said no funeral arrangements have been made at this time.